Phosphate ester and quaternary amine compounds are well known and have been widely used for many years More recently, various betaine-type derivatives having, in general, quaternized alkyl amine groups and at least one phosphorous-containing anion in the molecule referred to hereinafter as "synthetic phospholipids", have been disclosed The in U.S. Pat. Nos. are 3,856,893 and 3,928,509 to Diery et al. Diery discloses that the phosphonate compounds of his invention are active anti-microbial compounds. Later amido amine and imidazoline derivatives were disclosed for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,215,064; 4,233,192 and 4,380,637 to Lindemann et al., U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,209,449; 4,336,385 and 4,503,002 to Mayhew et al., and U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,243,602; 4,283,542 and 4,336,386 to O'Lenick et al. These synthetic phospholipids are suggested as exhibiting an outstanding combination of surfactant characteristics as well as being well tolerated by human tissue, i.e., they exhibit exceptionally low ocular irritation and oral toxicity. While these known phospholipids have been found useful as surfactants in a variety of personal care, they have not exhibited an ability to protect the skin from irritation or provide barrier properties to the skin, protecting it from the negative effects of chemicals and environmental effects.
It is very desirable to provide a material from aqueous solution that will protect the skin from environmental irritants such as ozone, and other pollutants. The compounds of the present invention can be formulated into body washes and other skin products and protect the skin from damage. In addition the di-nature of the compounds provides for outstanding substantivity and the phospholipid nature of the molecule allow for very mild natural like materials that can be used in products where low irritation is important.